DeKalb's unemployment rate stood at 8.5 percent in October, according to records from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations. Alabama's rate was a slightly lower 8.1 percent, while the national rate in October was 7.5 percent, U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics figures show.

RTI workers have a significant economic impact on the DeKalb/Rainsville area, Durham said.

"They draw a more of a regional workforce," he said. "Anytime workers come from outside the community, they'll spend money here."

Durham said RTI is valuable in other ways, too.

"They've built walking tracks that the community can use and they've been a major player in other assets in the community," he said. "They really participate tremendously in our community and schools."

The Rainsville City Council over the summer approved sales tax and non-education property tax abatements to assist in the expansion. The abatements are available to any qualifying company, Durham said.

The company will pay about $147,000 less in sales taxes during the construction period, he said, and about $13,000 a year less in non-educational property taxes for the next 10 years. The property tax figure is roughly equal to the non-educational portion of property taxes the company will continue paying over the 10-year period, he said.